The Story of the “Comfort Women” Is a Painful Reminder of the Atrocities of Human Trafficking, and How Far We Have Yet to Go in Order to Eradicate It, Says Ros-Lehtinen

(WASHINGTON) – Today, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, released the following statement ahead of the sixth anniversary of the passage of the “Comfort Women” Resolution by the House of Representatives in 2007. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

“As we mark the sixth anniversary of the passage of the ‘Comfort Women’ Resolution by the House, it is important to reflect upon the stories of the thousands of victims of the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces and the horror that they had to endure. These women from Korea, China, and all across Asia, were victims of coercion and forced sexual slavery who underwent unthinkable pain, suffering and humiliation in what was one of the largest cases of human trafficking of the 20th century. This is not a U.S.-Japan issue, but a human rights issue. I urge our Japanese friends to condemn all forms of human trafficking, past and present, and resolve this issue so that the ‘Comfort Women’ can at last receive some form of closure.

“Unfortunately, the case of the ‘Comfort Women’ also serves as a painful reminder that human trafficking still exists today, and we have a long battle ahead if we are to see it eradicated. Human trafficking is as much a domestic challenge as it is an international one. It is one of the worst and most alarming human rights issues of our day, and we must continue to condemn these acts, hold those responsible accountable, and work to eradicate human trafficking to ensure that no person will ever be deprived of their dignity as human beings.”